A United Airlines crew refused to operate a flight from San Francisco to Houston on Tuesday after they came in contact with cannabis smoke from a passenger who sparked up in one of the front lavatories. “I have 30 years left of my career at United, I’m not willing to risk getting drug tested when I get to Houston,” the unidentified captain told passengers before he left the aircraft, according to a Reddit post from someone identifying himself as a passenger. All airlines have zero tolerance policies for drug use by pilots, and even the minimal amount from this kind of casual exposure would be a problem if it was detected by the random testing pilots undergo occasionally.
As for the flight, passengers had already sat through a technical delay and then sat on the plane while the weed-smoking passenger was taken off the plane and the crew discussed their further participation in the flight. The passengers were eventually deplaned and waited for a new crew at the gate. They were on their way about four hours late.
Passengers were delayed, but safety and rules come first. Good decision.
I had to make that career decision myself 32 years ago. It comes down to more than just the regulations. The people sitting behind you expect a responsible crew.
What would have happened if the pilot had unknowingly used the purple-hazed lav during flight?
Rules and regs are essential, of course, but unfortunately we’re still worlds away from having a mature, efficient system of proper discrimination between the FAA and their lazy zero tolerance policy and the pilot population everywhere.
A quick on-site drug test kit from CVS – FAA approved, of course – with verifiable results has the crew happily flying on. No one loses money, schedules stay close and passengers can fall asleep without stress. Tossing around paying passengers like baggage from this situation is absurd.
Let science be the guide – not a bureaucrat – so pilots won’t live in fear of their entire world coming apart from a breath of air, a brush of clothing or a sad funeral. Zero tolerance policies are only good for engendering fear – they’re used for control – Time to get past this authoritarian, derelict policy.
Oddly enough, for this disparate panel, everyone (so far) is right. Blame, if it must be assigned, can be apportioned almost all the way up the chain. I fully support the captain; he really had no more choice than the rest of the unfortunate pax. The guilt falls squarely on the toker, who ignored the “No Smoking” sign in the lav. That should put you on the No-Fly List forever, under “Too Stupid/Antisocial to Fly”. But one could also fault the crazy-quilt of state and federal laws regarding the use of cannabis. Too bad he didn’t have the sense to stick a bag of gummies in his carry-on.
The fault absolutely lies with with druggie in this case, with a close second prize going to the feds for their “head-in-the-sand” zero tolerance policy with no recourse to common sense. The pilot did not realistically have a choice here.